Parker is commonly considered the greatest bebop jazz musician. In terms of influence and impact, his contribution to jazz was so great that Charles Mingus commented that if Bird were alive today, he would think he was living in a hall of mirrors. Bird's talent is compared almost without argument to such legendary musicians as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and his reputation and legend as one of the best saxophonists is such that some critics say he was unsurpassed.
A founding figure of bebop, Parker's innovative approach to melody, rhythm and harmony have exerted an incalculable influence on jazz.. Several of Parker's songs have become standards of the repertoire, and innumerable musicians have studied Parker's music and absorbed elements of his style.
Parker became an icon for the Beat generation, and was a pivotal figure in the evolving conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical (seeking to study with Edgard Varese and Stefan Wolpe) to Latin music (recordings with Machito), blazing paths followed later by others.
Parker was known for often showing up to performances without an instrument and borrowing someone else's at the last moment. At more than one venue he played on a plastic Grafton saxophone; later, saxophonist Ornette Coleman used this brand of plastic sax in his early career. On one particular occasion before a concert in Toronto, Canada, he had sold his saxophone to buy drugs, and at the last minute, he, Dizzy Gillespie and other members of Charlie's entourage went running around Toronto trying to find a saxophone. After scouring all the downtown pawnshops open at the time, they were only able to find a Grafton, which Parker proceeded to use at the concert that night. This concert is documented on the album Jazz at Massey Hall. The album is considered one of the greatest live recordings in Jazz history.
Parker's battles with alcoholism and heroin addiction ranged from his teenage years until his death from pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer at thirty-four. The toll that the drug had taken on his relatively young body was quite profound - a doctor examining Parker's body estimated him to be around sixty years old.
During his lifetime, tribute was paid to Parker when a new nightclub in New York was named Birdland in his honour in 1949.Three years later, George Shearing wrote "Lullaby of Birdland", which was named for both Parker and the nightclub.
Other phenomena also occurred in the United States after the death of Parker, particularly the use of the term "Bird lives" in graffiti throughout New York hours after his death, and later as the title of a contemporary art piece of the same name, created by sculptor Robert Graham in 1999. Despite its widespread use, Ted Joans is usually credited with its inception.
How High The Moon
Charlie Parker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How faint the tune
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon
There is no moon above
When love is far away too
Till it comes true
That you love me as I love you
Somewhere there's music
How near, how far
Somewhere there's heaven
It's where you are
The darkest night would shine
If you would come to me soon
Until you will, how still my heart
How high the moon
Somewhere there's music
How faint the tune
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon
The darkest night would shine
If you would come to me soon
Until you will, how still my heart
How high the moon
The song "How High The Moon" by Charlie Parker and Lester Young is a classic jazz standard that speaks about the power of music and love. The lyrics showcase the idea that even when things seem dark and love is far away, the magic of music and the hope of love can bring light and joy. The first stanza, "Somewhere there's music, how faint the tune, somewhere there's heaven, how high the moon," suggests that even when music is hard to hear, it exists somewhere, like a hidden heaven high in the sky. The second stanza, "somewhere there's music, how near how far, somewhere there's heaven, it's where you are," implies that the music and heaven can be both close and far, and that they can also reside in the person we love.
The last stanza, "the darkest night would shine if you would come to me soon, until you will, how still my heart, how high the moon," speaks to the yearning for the love of another person, and how their presence can make even the darkest night shine. As the stanza concludes, the singer expresses how still their heart is until they are reunited with their beloved, and how high their joy and love will then soar.
Overall, the song's lyrics are about the power of music and love to bring light to even the darkest moments. Through music and love, the world can become a brighter place, and our hearts can soar to unimaginable heights.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere there's music
Music exists in some undefined location
How faint the tune
The music is quiet and difficult to hear
Somewhere there's heaven
Heavenly bliss is located somewhere
How high the moon
Heavenly bliss is located far away, as high up as the moon
There is no moon above
The moon is absent from the sky
When love is far away too
When love is absent, the moon seems far away
Till it comes true
Until love becomes a reality
That you love me as I love you
When both people love each other equally
How near, how far
The distance between music and heaven is unknown
It's where you are
Heavenly bliss is wherever the loved one is
The darkest night would shine
The lack of light would disappear if the loved one came near
If you would come to me soon
If the loved one arrived soon
Until you will, how still my heart
Until then, my heart remains in silence
How high the moon
Heavenly bliss is located far away, as high up as the moon
Somewhere there's music
Music exists in some undefined location
How faint the tune
The music is quiet and difficult to hear
Somewhere there's heaven
Heavenly bliss is located somewhere
How high the moon
Heavenly bliss is located far away, as high up as the moon
The darkest night would shine
The lack of light would disappear if the loved one came near
If you would come to me soon
If the loved one arrived soon
Until you will, how still my heart
Until then, my heart remains in silence
How high the moon
Heavenly bliss is located far away, as high up as the moon
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@olebirgerpedersen
An extreme fantastic solo from a flying Bird.
@landongraff198
Is nobody going to mention that sick drum groove?
@mthzb
its the first ever recorded jungle or DnB drum pattern recorded
@brendonabney7207
Wow! Gave me chills. Everyone was great on this.
@miltonsalmeron900
Who can possibly dislike this masterpiece
@johnspelic9861
Very early use of tritone substitution at 1:49. Hardly anyone was doing it this creatively. Stravinsky influence coming through. That Bird heard this naturally and could use it intuitively is just incredible. Genius.
@raefblack7906
Nothing to do with Stravinsky gtfo
@NatSteeleMusic
This isn't early for tritones - jazz musicians had been making that substitution for a long time before this. Just check out the harmonic complexity of, for example, some of Lionel Hampton's playing in the 30s with Benny Goodman to see just how harmonically advanced jazz musicians were even back then.
@eddiebarbash
Coleman Hawkins used tritone subs all the time pre bird. The more obvious Stravinsky influence is the Petrushka quote at 2:26
@cjgreen4331
Godly, every musician on this
Dang that drumming is so goood